NOT THE QUESTION (this week): Should Moore Co. approve a .0025% sales tax to fund school construction? This is a necessary and important debate but we have four months for that. Right now the issue is getting it on the November ballot.

DETAILS: According The Pilot, Representative Jamie Boles is holding up SB 727 because it doesn't contain a "sunset" provision that would cause it to expire at a future point. This is an arguably good idea but Sen. Tillman, the bill's sponsor, told us Jamie can easily add a sunset amendment and allow it to continue through the process.

Note: There are two, separate but interlaced questions, here: 1. How much and what kind (frugal or extravagant) of school construction do we actually need? 2. How do we pay for it, regardless what we build?

The second question is the only issue addressed by the sales tax. Most of us have many questions, but here are some of the reasons it's looking like the wise, conservative way to go:

It's locked-in, by law, for new construction so future Boards of Commissioners (BoE) can't reallocate it

It's transparent and accountable so we'll know how much there is at any given time

It will greatly reduce the amount we'll have to borrow, thus avoiding a huge amount of interest debt

It will avoid a hike in property taxes to fund school construction

It will give everybody "skin in the game" (rather than just property owners) which will make responsible fiscal decisions of interest to more citizens

Outsiders who visit Moore Co. will help pay for our school (vs. just property owners)

It obviates the need for more massive bonds which always dearly cost the taxpayers

MTC favors a tax increase??No! In fact, many of our members want government out of the school business, but that won't happen anytime soon, will it? In the meantime, Moore Co. will build and will fund it. Funding it wisely or foolishly is the immediate decision we taxpayers must make. If a miracle happened next year and NC handed over all schools to the private sector, we can repeal a .0025% sales tax. If not, it's a idea with merit we need to hash out, but it must get out of committee before it can get on the ballot.

On the March 15th ballot will be a bond referendum titled "Connect NC". This was originally intended to be a transportation infrastructure bond, but has been gutted and refilled with a grab bag of goodies from the Christmas wish lists of our State Legislators.

Most of the largesse will go to UNC facilities across the state; none of the earmarked projects appear to be dire emergencies, and all should have been addressed within the normal budget making process.

The Connect NC bond is a $2 Billion pork barrel give away, that will cost NC $100 million in annual principal payments plus additional hundreds of millions in interest over its 20-year life.

We encourage everyone to vote "NO" to this list of luxury items at a time when we are struggling to pay teachers and care for our veterans.

Talking of last-minute bills, how about the Omnibus Spending Bill!? What a flurry of activity to propose and pass it in one week! The Republicans claimed that, again, they were caught by the year-end deadline. You know, that deadline that never seemed to hamper the Democrats? That deadline that comes every year at the same time? We the People are supposed to ignore that and pity the poor "leaders" of the country. Year after the year that pesky deadline jumps up out of nowhere? Of course not, and don't forget the only reason the Republicans "had" to pass a bill was because they ruled out "shutting the government down." That is, when we gave them the majority in the Senate, they announce their abdication of their constitutional obligation to protect us from tyranny by sending the president a bill he might veto.

Officially known as the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2016, it is a $1.149 trillion, 2,009 page bill. It should have been an opportunity for conservatives to include key conservative measures. However, the Act lacks provisions for defunding executive action amnesties or defunding Planned Parenthood. It does not address sanctuary cities. It does not defund the Syrian refugee program. Instead it includes an ineffective rider tweaking the visa waiver program.

Liberals and the unions got a victory in a 2-year delay in the Obamacare Cadillac tax. The Cadillac tax is a tax on the most expensive employer-sponsored health care plans. Many union contracts include these plans. The act also permanently weakens the tax by making future payments of the Cadillac tax deductible as a business expense.

Many conservative riders were proposed but not adopted, such as a funding prohibition on the FCC from implementing net neutrality. Many conservative riders touted by the Appropriations Committee as concessions to conservatives are pre-existing riders which have survived thoughout Republican and Democrat control. Another rider, the lifting of the 4-decade ban on the export of unrefined crude oil, is good policy. However, it does not outweigh the bad riders.

Senator Tillis voted for the bill. Senator Burr voted against the bill. However, Senator Burr is up for re-election in 2016 and needs conservative votes. The bill passed in the Senate 65 to 33. His vote was not needed for passage.

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